The Workshop continues operating despite financial cuts

Monday

Oct 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Officials with The Workshop of Davidson thought the recent U.S. government shutdown was not going to affect the nonprofit organization.

BY DENEESHA EDWARDSThe Dispatch

Officials with The Workshop of Davidson thought the recent U.S. government shutdown was not going to affect the nonprofit organization.Some unexpected events caused a small interruption in its services, said executive director Mike Foster, however, it did not stop operations. The Workshop is a private, not-for-profit, vocational rehabilitation facility that serves people with disabilities"We're hanging on," Foster said. "We can't stop what we do. Too many people depend on our programs, and about two dozen staff members devote their lives to our mission. Therefore they depend on us for their livelihood."With those problems taking place, the organization continued providing services as if nothing happened.The agency received a "stop work" notification that impacted two full-time and one part-time positions' work for a week in its vocational rehabilitation department because of the shutdown. Those workers help secure permanent employment in the community for disabled adults. Foster said they continued to work as if nothing happened because those were vital positions, and the agency needed those workers to work with clients.Frozen funds affected the agency's transportation services. The organization utilizes a two-year grant from the state that covers the cost of transporting clients with Davidson County Transportation System. Three-fourths of the agency's clients use the transportation for work, going home and coming to The Workshop.The Workshop pays for the service each month and submits paperwork to the state to be reimbursed. That typically is a three- to four-week turnaround, Foster said. The agency hasn't received any funds back from the state in two months. This year the organization suffered a lot of financial hits from both the state and federal levels, which are its main financial streams. It also receives money from donations, fundraisers, the United Way of Davidson County and businesses that contract work for the clients.The biggest cut has affected the group homes. Foster said the agency lost $70,000 annually because of a re-classification of how the level of disabilities for group home residents is defined. The agency runs a female and male group home, which houses a total of 12 people, for individuals who would be unable to live independently.Foster noted that at the beginning of the year the agency lost funding for 10 of those residents who have no other options for places to live and cannot live on their own. He said the homes remained in operation by the use of money out of its budget and a couple of other funding streams."We had to do whatever we needed to do to keep the group home running. We couldn't just send (the residents) out there. Some of them have been with us 30-plus years," Foster said.The agency did apply for emergency "stop gap" funds from the state that were appropriated for group homes to help avoid what could have been a disaster by displacing thousands of developmentally disabled individuals, Foster noted. He said the new classification guidelines affected thousands across the state. He does not know how much the agency would receive if approved.Also, there was a 10-15 percent cut to the agency's vocational/life skills program. Sixty-three clients utilize the activities during the weekday that include work, developing vocational skills, learning personal skills and earning a paycheck. Some of those same individuals are part of an adult compensatory education program through a partnership with Davidson County Community College. "We're doing the same amount of work with less money. We're still operating as if nothing has changed," Foster said. With the agency celebrating 50 years of operation next year, Foster noted 4,000 clients have benefitted from services provided by the organization. He said families and caregivers have also been part of the life-changing experiences. He said due to the services provided by the agency, it will never be able to completely distance itself from federal and state support, but he hopes it can become more self-sustaining by increased donations from the private sector and area foundations. That hope will help balance out the budget so the agency will not be hit as hard. He does not want to cut back or lay off any staff or cut back on programs.Foster came to the organization in 2011 with a goal of raising awareness of the agency through more marketing efforts while strengthening the relationships with other organizations that provide the contract work for the clients. "I do feel like we're on the right path," he said. "We'll see the impact on into 2014. We're going to do what we can to sustain and keep the programs going."Deneesha Edwards can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 213, or at deneesha.edwards@the-dispatch.com.